Wire rope anchor, in particular for rockfall or avalanche protection systems

ABSTRACT

A rope loop ( 15 ) sheathed by at least one protective sleeve can be anchored in the floor ( 12 ) with its two rope ends ( 13, 14 ) in a wire rope anchor, in particular for rockfall or avalanche protection systems. The rope ends ( 13, 14 ) are pressed together with a connection piece ( 20 ). This connection piece ( 20 ) comprises a connection part ( 22 ) for connecting a longitudinal element ( 25 ) that can also be anchored in the floor ( 12 ) on the side facing away from the rope ends ( 13, 14 ). In this way the wire rope anchor can then be affixed to conventional anchor rods representing the longitudinal elements. The drill pipe can also be left to remain in the floor following drilling, and the wire rope anchor can be screwed onto this drill pipe equipped with a screw thread.

The invention concerns a wire rope anchor, in particular for rockfall or avalanche protection systems, with a rope loop which can be anchored to the floor with the two rope ends and which is sheathed by at least one protective sleeve at least in part.

With a generic spiral wire rope anchor according to the application EP-A-0 557 241 the rope that forms a loop is anchored with its ends in the earth. For this the rope ends are held together by means of clips. These spiral wire rope anchors have proven themselves as particularly good in real life, as they can be produced relatively cost effectively on the one hand, and absorb very high tractive forces when correctly anchored in the floor on the other, for example by means of concreting into the floor, and the loop section projecting from the floor can also be bent at an angle, so that an optimised force flow is possible in the installed condition.

It is the purpose of this invention to further develop these known wire loop anchors and adapt the same in such a way that the same are suitable for special assemblies.

This task is solved in accordance with the invention in that the rope ends are pressed together with a connection piece, whereby this connection piece comprises a connection part for connecting a longitudinal element also anchored in the floor on the side facing away from the rope ends.

With a preferred embodiment the connection part of the connection piece is formed on the side facing away from the rope ends in the form of a nut with a corresponding internal thread, whereby this nut can be screwed onto the longitudinal element equipped with a screw part prior to or after anchoring the same longitudinal element. The longitudinal element is rod-shaped or formed as a hidden drill pipe.

With the solution of this invention a hole can be drilled into the floor during a first installation step of the rope anchor, and depending on the consistency of the floor the drill pipe can be left to remain in the floor, especially when the floor is not safe to walk on and the hole may collapse at any time, or a rod can be pushed into the hole following the drilling process and anchored in the same. It is of course also possible to envisage a piped bore.

In this way various advantages result, namely that the wire rope anchor can be installed by means of commonly known anchor rods, or that the same can be replaced or—as already described—that the drill pipe can be left to remain in the floor after drilling and the rope anchor screwed onto the drill pipe equipped with screw threads. In this way all the foundation work can also be carried out independently from the net installation and the wire anchors can then be simply screwed onto the anchored longitudinal elements and preferably covered with concrete, mortar or another filler material in the floor.

An embodiment of the invention as well as further advantages of the same will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, whereby:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a wire rope anchor of the invention, which has here been anchored into the floor;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the wire rope anchor in the area of the connection piece along the line II-II of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a rockfall, i.e. avalanche protection.

FIG. 1 shows a wire rope anchor 10 fitted in the indicated floor 12, which is used in particular for rockfall and avalanche protection systems. The same comprises a wire rope with a rope loop 15 projecting towards the floor 12 and two rope ends 13, 14 anchored in the floor. The rope loop 15 itself is sheathed by means of a protective sleeve 11, the two ends 11′ of which also extend into the floor 12 almost up to the rope ends 13, 14. With this protective sleeve 15 a corrosion protection of the wire rope is effected. In addition a further sleeve 16 is envisaged, which is positioned to surround the former when the loop 15 projects. A ring 17 is also positioned around the rope ends 13, 14 and serves as an indication for the installation depth of the wire anchor 10.

According to the invention the rope ends 13, 14 are pressed together with a connection piece 20, whereby this connection piece 20 comprises a connection part 22 for connecting a longitudinal element 25 that can also be anchored in the floor 12 on the side facing away from the rope ends 13, 14.

According to FIG. 2 this connection piece 20 is equipped with two adjacent bores 21′ for each receiving a rope end 13, 14 in its front part 21. The connection piece can be plastically reshaped in the area of these bores 21′, so that the rope ends 13, 14 can be pressed into the same by means of a commercially available hydraulic press and therefore form a permanent counteractive fitting. The length of these bore 21′ is preferably a multiple of the rope diameter, so that the rope ends are held sufficiently firmly. The connection piece 20 is here reshaped in the pressed part 21 from a starting cross-section that is preferably round into a multi-cornered, preferably hexagonal external shape. It is of course also possible to give this external cross-section a different shape, for example round, oval or rectangular. The connection piece 20 preferably consists of plastically deformable steel.

The connection part 22 of the connection piece 20 is formed on the side facing away from the rope ends 13, 14 in the form of a nut with an internal thread 22′ according to the invention. In this way the wire rope anchor 10 as a whole can be screwed onto the longitudinal element 25 equipped with a screw part 25′, or screwed onto this longitudinal element prior to or after anchoring the same. The longitudinal element 25 takes the form of a rod or a hidden drill pipe, whereby at least the head area of the rod is preferably equipped with a thread.

For an installation a hole is for example first drilled into the floor 12. The longitudinal element 25 can then be concreted into the hole as illustrated. During the installation of the net the wire rope anchor 10 can then be screwed onto the longitudinal element 25 equipped with the thread 25′ as a whole, and the same then filled in up to the ring 17 located at the surface of the floor with concrete or suchlike.

FIG. 3 also shows the use of such wire rope anchors 10 according to the invention for a conventional rockfall, i.e. avalanche protection 30. The latter comprises of supports 32, each held on a foundation 28 by means of joints 27, of a net 31 affixed to the upper side of the supports 32, and of carrier and retaining ropes 34, 38. The net 31 is here positioned in an almost vertical position in relation to the floor 12, so that the same is capable of safely catching falling rocks and suchlike, or falling masses of snow.

The wire rope anchors 10 hold carrier ropes 34 which in turn hold the net 31 on the one hand, and hold the retaining ropes 38 to the floor 12 on the other. It is clear that the loops 15 are angled in relation to the longitudinal element 25 and the part of the wire rope anchor 10 in the floor in such a way that the same extend almost flush with the carrier, i.e. retaining ropes. The relevant carrier rope 34, i.e. the retaining rope 38 is laid around the relevant loop 15 in the form of a noose 34′, i.e. 38′.

The invention has been sufficiently described with reference to the above listed embodiments. It could however also be realised in other ways. The connection part located on the side facing away from the rope ends 13, 14 could also be pressed together with at least one longitudinal element in the form of a rope.

This outer sleeve 16 sheathing the rope loop 15 and the protective sleeve 11 projecting into the floor could also be of a bowl shape instead of being pipe-shaped and enclose the upper area of the loop on the inside of the same, so that a rope end looped around this loop represents additional protection against wear.

The connection piece could in principle also consist of several pieces in that a part piece pressed together with the rope ends and a separate connection part connected with the latter is envisaged.

Several bores could also be envisaged in the connection piece, for example if two loops were positioned next to each other. The term wire rope can of course also include wire braids, possibly with parallel wires or only almost parallel wires.

The longitudinal element in turn can also be connected with a further anchor rod or suchlike as the longitudinal element, i.e. the connection part could then be connected with a longitudinal element formed as the connection element, and the anchorable longitudinal element could then be affixed to this connection element, the same representing a direct connection of the longitudinal element with the connection piece. 

1. Wire rope anchor, in particular for rockfall or avalanche protection systems, with a rope loop which can be anchored to the floor with the two rope ends and which is sheathed by at least one protective sleeve at least in part, characterised in that the rope ends are pressed together with a connecting piece, whereby this connecting piece comprises a connecting part for the direct or indirect connection of a longitudinal element also anchored to the floor on the side facing away from the rope ends.
 2. Wire rope anchor according to claim 1, characterised in that the connecting piece is equipped with two adjacent bores for receiving one rope end each in its front part, and is plastically deformable at least in the area of these bores, so that the rope ends can be pressed into the same and therefore create a permanent counteractive fitting in this way.
 3. Wire rope anchor according to claim 1, characterised in that the connecting piece is deformed into a multi-cornered, preferably hexagonal or a round or oval external shape in the pressed part.
 4. Wire rope anchor according to one of the preceding claim 1, characterised in that the connecting part takes the form of a nut with an internal thread on the side facing away from the rope ends, and can be screwed onto the longitudinal element equipped with a screw part prior to or after anchoring this longitudinal element.
 5. Wire rope anchor according to one of the preceding claim 1, characterised in that the longitudinal element is of a rod-shaped form or takes the form of a hidden drill pipe.
 6. Wire rope anchor according to one of the preceding claim 1, characterised in that the connecting part located on the side facing away from the rope ends is also pressed together with at least one longitudinal element in the form of a rope.
 7. Wire rope anchor according to one of the preceding claim 1, characterised in that the connecting piece consists of a plastically deformable steel.
 8. Wire rope anchor according to one of the preceding claim 1, characterised in that at least one protective sleeve enclosing the rope loop at least in part is envisaged, which also projects into the floor with its ends following anchoring of the same.
 9. Wire rope anchor according to one of the preceding claim 1, characterised in that the connecting piece consists of several pieces in that one part section pressed together with the rope ends and one separate connecting part connected with the latter is envisaged. 